Mahindra Logistics to use EVs for last mile delivery in India soon

The plan follows online retailer Amazon India’s decision to deploy electric vehicles for last mile delivery. The company is said to be in contact with Mahindra Electric and Kinetic Green for the supply of vehicles.

Swedish furniture retailer Ikea (via Gati Logistics) and online grocery Bigbasket are also using electric vehicles for last mile delivery, according to media reports.

Mahindra Logistics is one of the largest third-party logistics service providers (3PLs), specializing in supply chain management and business mobility (passenger transport solutions, for which it already uses EVs in some regions. from the country).

According to Rampraveen Swaminathan, managing director and CEO of the company, a key part of the nearly triple growth in five years includes the addition of 2 million square feet of warehousing per year over the next few years, each of the sites. spanning 4-5 lakh sq ft.

The company now has a space of 16 million square feet. In the third quarter alone, it added 0.75 million square feet of space in Chennai and Hyderabad.

As a provider of integrated logistics solutions, the company offers 13 services, and one of the new services it wants to get started in is the deployment of electric vehicles for last mile delivery. The company will launch it soon, Swaminathan told PTI.

The company is planning a strong expansion of its freight forwarding activity, which is currently a money market (it is already growing at 20%).

To achieve its scale, the company is also open to acquisitions, Swaminathan said, adding that the expansion will also result in an expansion of its business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-business (B2C) verticals.

Mahindra Logistics is also exploring new markets and geographies, including expanding its freight forwarding business overseas, he said.

However, nothing has been finalized on this front and there is no rush to internationalize as the internal market is very large, he added.

Elaborating on the launch of electric vehicles for last mile delivery, he said it would be a core business for the company as the country is headed towards a fully electric market in a decade or so.

For successful operation of electric vehicles, it is essential to optimize the weight of the cargo, he said.

The company is trying to push the industry, which currently mainly uses electric two-wheelers, to embrace electric vehicles more widely for last mile delivery, Swaminathan said.

He said another strategy for faster growth is to move the company away from its over-reliance on the automotive segment, especially the parent group, and shift revenues back to the current consumer history. played by the pharmaceutical, electronics and food supply chains. providing end-to-end fulfillment logistics.

Even after so many years, 50% of the company’s revenue still comes solely from the automotive segment, he said.

Moving away from the automotive segment will see the company focus more on consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce and exim’s international business, he added.

Reflecting the changes underway in the economy, which is a faster and deeper adoption of consumerism, the company will also focus on service level integration to deliver end-to-end solutions or whatever. calls for fulfillment services, added Swaminathan.

Mahindra Logistics was founded over four decades ago as the factory logistics arm of Mahindra’s automotive business. The company today serves more than 400 companies in the automotive, engineering, consumer goods and e-commerce segments.